Peter Dmytruk
Peter Dmytruk (May 27, 1920 in
Life
Peter Dmytruk was born in Radisson, Saskatchewan in 1920 to a
Peter Dmytruk's duties for the Resistance brought him to the small village of Les Martres-de-Veyre, about 15 kilometers south of Clermont-Ferrand where he gained a reputation amongst his French colleagues as a fearless fighter, undeterred by the ever-present danger. Following the sabotage of a German troop and munitions train, the Germans sent troops into Les Martres-de-Veyre. Normally, the usual Wehrmacht reprisal for such sabotage incidents involved executing all the men in the village. However, on December 9, 1943, Peter Dmytruk was arrested and because it was believed that the notorious "Pierre le Canadien" was responsible for the train sabotage, he was executed on the spot. As a result, the German military believed they had broken the backbone of the local Resistance movement.
Aftermath
The people of
However, acclaimed as a hero whose selfless courage helped bring freedom to France and whose death saved the life of many residents of Les Martres-de-Veyre, a street was named after him. The
Almost thirty years after his death, in August 1972, the surprised mayor of Wynyard, Saskatchewan received a letter from the mayor of Les Martres-de-Veyre, who proposed to honour the slain Canadian airman through the twinning of their two small towns and the creation of a new and larger memorial at Dmytruk's gravesite. On the thirtieth anniversary of his death, a 13-person delegation of Dmytruk's relatives and officials from Saskatchewan joined the French commemoration ceremony.
In 1999, Peter Dmytruk was awarded the "Nation Builders Awards" that honours the contributions of outstanding
References
- ISBN 0-88977-121-9.
- ^ "Home page - Ukrainian Echo". www.homin.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-05.